What do bees do in winter?

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Slowly but surely, winter is coming to Germany: The days are getting shorter and shorter, temperatures are dropping and the trees are now really bare. For us humans, the only sensible activity seems to be to snuggle up and wait for spring with a pot of tea.

But while we nourish our winter fat with gingerbread and raclette, things look rather bleak for bees on the food front, as there are hardly any flowers, little nectar and no pollen. And because bees have nothing to eat in the winter months and the weather is too uncomfortable anyway, bees also stay at home.

However, there are major differences: honey bees that live in colonies hibernate together in their hive, whereas solitary wild bees do not survive the winter. But before their earthly bee life ends, they have their hands full and have to barricade their offspring in so-called brood cells so that they can safely give birth to the next generation of wild bees the following spring and fight against insect extinction.

Bees in winter: What honey bees do in the cold months

Unlike wild bees, honey bees hibernate together with their colony and remain in the hive for months. To ensure that no one goes hungry during this long period, honey bees take care of their winter provisions during the summer months and produce masses of honey.

As soon as fall arrives, the entire colony (often several tens of thousands of honeybees) huddle together in the hive - this huddling together is known as a "winter cluster". When it gets really cold outside, the bees start to shiver and generate additional warmth. In this way, the honey bees can generate a room temperature of 30 degrees!

Was machen Bienen im Winter?

What happens to wild bees in winter?

The majority of wild bees living in Germany are known as solitary bees: They do not live in colonies but rather alone. The life cycle of a wild bee is therefore significantly different from that of a honeybee. Most wild bees in Central Europe live for about a year; however, they spend only a few weeks in the open air and most of their time in their brood cells. During winter, wild bees remain as larvae or cocoons in their brood cells.

For the mason bee (Osmia cornuta), the life cycle looks like this: In March, female mason bees emerge as soon as the first rays of spring sunlight appear. Since the mason bee follows a tight schedule, it doesn’t take long before it focuses on reproduction. From late March to mid-May, females lay their eggs in suitable brood cells and then ensure they are well-provisioned. The female lays one egg in each of approximately 10 brood cells and diligently collects nectar and pollen from bee-friendly plants, packing it into the brood cells so her offspring have enough food to survive the winter.

Once the mason bee female has stocked her brood cells with enough provisions, she seals the openings and leaves the eggs. After a few weeks – between April and June – the mason bee larvae hatch from the eggs and start consuming the provisions. From mid-June, the mason bee larvae enter the next stage of development: spinning their cocoons.

By the end of July, the mason bee cocoon is complete, and inside, the pupa undergoes metamorphosis for a few weeks. Even before autumn arrives, the fully developed mason bee lies inside its cocoon. However, it must wait a few more months because outside, it would neither find reproduction partners nor suitable food.

Until spring knocks on the door the following year and the first flowers bloom, the mason bee remains in its brood cell. As soon as the first rays of sunlight cause temperatures to rise, the mason bee emerges from its cocoon, and the life cycle starts anew.

(mw)

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